Will this cheap 3500 watt induction burner work?

[sumbrewindude]

Geoffm33 - is the Bayou you went with a tri-clad bottom or the standard bottom? I'm having fits trying to decide on a pot, mostly because I can't find whether or not the BC series is induction rated. I think the tri-clads are, but I can't find any documentation that they are. General consensus with the standard kettles is some work, some don't - good luck.

I can find induction pots, but they're all squat/wide instead of narrow tall. The only two I can find (now) are either the BC tri-clad, or the NB Monster 1.2. I REALLY wish I had snagged up one of those Tallboy kettles NB had a while ago, but I have no idea if they're even going to offer then again as they've been removed from the website.

 

[geoffm33]

Geoffm33 - is the Bayou you went with a tri-clad bottom or the standard bottom? I'm having fits trying to decide on a pot, mostly because I can't find whether or not the BC series is induction rated. I think the tri-clads are, but I can't find any documentation that they are. General consensus with the standard kettles is some work, some don't - good luck.

I can find induction pots, but they're all squat/wide instead of narrow tall. The only two I can find (now) are either the BC tri-clad, or the NB Monster 1.2. I REALLY wish I had snagged up one of those Tallboy kettles NB had a while ago, but I have no idea if they're even going to offer then again as they've been removed from the website.

I'm going on the notion they are induction capable. A few have mentioned in this thread that they had confirmation from BC and many are using that exact model. Only time will tell

 

[chocotaco]

I REALLY wish I had snagged up one of those Tallboy kettles NB had a while ago, but I have no idea if they're even going to offer then again as they've been removed from the website.

The Tallboy basically got some extra embellishments (graduations, silicone handles) and became the MegaPot 1.2. I have the 10-gal MegaPot 1.2 and I love it. Works great on the IC3500.

 

[Hello]

So the bottom line is this induction cooker can handle the weight of approximately 8 to 10 gallons of water without damaging the cooker? I would like to have a way to do 5 gallon batches inside. I will reserve 10 gallon batches for outdoor brewing. The. BC pot people seem to favor is 13.6" in diameter but the IC3500 gives a max diameter of just over 10". Is this okay?

 

[geoffm33]

So the bottom line is this induction cooker can handle the weight of approximately 8 to 10 gallons of water without damaging the cooker? I would like to have a way to do 5 gallon batches inside. I will reserve 10 gallon batches for outdoor brewing.

Absolutely. There are some in this thread that are doing 10 gallon batches with 12 gallons of starting volume. There is another pic in thread with over 100lbs of weights in the kettle ontop of the burner.

 

[Hello]

Absolutely. There are some in this thread that are doing 10 gallon batches with 12 gallons of starting volume. There is another pic in thread with over 100lbs of weights in the kettle ontop of the burner.

Awesome! I added to my question about diameter but it seems as though I'd be okay. I can brew in my kitchen without someone complaining and some days I would like to.

 

[Owly055]

Indeed it is, I've spent more on propane in the last year than the induction cooktop costs. My single tier, 3 keggle, 3 burner system was just becoming a huge task to setup and clean (8-9 hour brew day, setup to put up). So I tried BIAB and was hooked, way easier. I was researching building a eBIAB and stumbled across a Braumeister and then saw the price. Then stumbled on this thread and was sold. If this works like I hope it does, I'm going to be selling quite a bit of other equipment.

Most folks buy those exchangeable pre-filled barbeque bottles......... and pay through the nose. The better way to go is to get a 100 pounder..... of course I have several of those, a 30 pounder, and a 250 pound bottle and a 500 gallon tank. It isn't usually too difficult to find a place to fill one of the 100 pound bottles. The last one I filled cost $60.......... that's a pretty decent deal compared to exchanging the 20 pound barbeque bottles. I picked up 3 100 pounders at a farm auction for $20 each, and gave one to a friend. Most folks don't want them.....they're heavy.

H.W.

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

Most folks buy those exchangeable pre-filled barbeque bottles......... and pay through the nose. The better way to go is to get a 100 pounder..... of course I have several of those, a 30 pounder, and a 250 pound bottle and a 500 gallon tank. It isn't usually too difficult to find a place to fill one of the 100 pound bottles. The last one I filled cost $60.......... that's a pretty decent deal compared to exchanging the 20 pound barbeque bottles. I picked up 3 100 pounders at a farm auction for $20 each, and gave one to a friend. Most folks don't want them.....they're heavy.

H.W.

I use the 30lb and 15lb bottles and take them to be refilled. Propane has become quite expensive in this area.

 

[chocotaco]

So the bottom line is this induction cooker can handle the weight of approximately 8 to 10 gallons of water without damaging the cooker? I would like to have a way to do 5 gallon batches inside. I will reserve 10 gallon batches for outdoor brewing. The. BC pot people seem to favor is 13.6" in diameter but the IC3500 gives a max diameter of just over 10". Is this okay?

The diameter is fine. Don't worry about a couple inches in difference. My MegaPot is ostensibly 14.1" in diameter (in reality the clad bottom is probably more like 12-13") and it works great. Obviously you will get a ring around the outside of the bottom that isn't as hot, but in practice it is still much better heat distribution than a water heater element (which many people use with success) or even gas flame.

Don't worry at all about the weight. This thing is rugged as hell. It looks and feels like it is built to withstand a nuclear blast. I wouldn't be surprised if it could handle 20 gallons as far as weight is concerned.

 

[Hello]

The diameter is fine. Don't worry about a couple inches in difference. My MegaPot is ostensibly 14.1" in diameter (in reality the clad bottom is probably more like 12-13") and it works great. Obviously you will get a ring around the outside of the bottom that isn't as hot, but in practice it is still much better heat distribution than a water heater element (which many people use with success) or even gas flame.

Don't worry at all about the weight. This thing is rugged as hell. It looks and feels like it is built to withstand a nuclear blast. I wouldn't be surprised if it could handle 20 gallons as far as weight is concerned.

Thanks. In BYO this month they even said the pot doesn't need to touch the cooktop because it uses magnetic force or whatever so as long as it is close, it can heat. Meaning, that ring that doesn't hit the element should heat but probably not as quickly.
Now to buy everything eventually and hire an electrician to give me the right plug in my kitchen. I use an electric stove so it's possible that will be helpful but I leave things like electricity to the trained professionals.

 

[MerlinWerks]

For those of you doing BIAB with this setup are there any special considerations, i.e. keeping the bag suspended off the kettle bottom, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

The BC pot arrived today, got it assembled and ready to use. Now if the cooktop would just hurry up. Also, have a bazooka screen on the way.

For those of you wondering the BC (non triclad bottom) is very magnetic. The little spot between the thermometer and valve is a magnet.

 

[chocotaco]

Thanks. In BYO this month they even said the pot doesn't need to touch the cooktop because it uses magnetic force or whatever so as long as it is close, it can heat. Meaning, that ring that doesn't hit the element should heat but probably not as quickly.
Now to buy everything eventually and hire an electrician to give me the right plug in my kitchen. I use an electric stove so it's possible that will be helpful but I leave things like electricity to the trained professionals.

Well, it's true that it doesn't need to actually touch the cooktop to heat, at least from a technical standpoint WRT induction heating. But, it doesn't work laterally that much (as in the outer rim of the pot). Basically, there is a huge electromagnetic coil inside the burner underneath where the pot goes. The diameter of the coil is what determines the pot diameter you're guided to use. The coil has a high voltage running through it and oscillates its polarity very rapidly in order to transfer energy into the pot via induction (the creation of eddy currents inside the pot's metal in response to the changing magnetic field given off by the coil). If you take a look at this diagram of the field density of a solenoid (the word given to an elecromagnetic coil of that configuragion):

(the diagram comes from here if you want to read more about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Finite_Length_Solenoid_field_radius_1_length_1.jpg )

Think of it as a side view of the inductor coil in the burner. The burner is designed so that the bottom of the cooking vessel will occupy the light blue/green area of field density. You will still get some heating out in the yellow area, and even the red area, but it drops off so rapidly that it quickly becomes negligible. So the "outer rim" area will be getting much more heat by conduction from the heated center of the pot bottom than it will get directly from the burner.

Also, as far as not touching the burner - these cooktops are designed to magnetically detect the pot sitting on top of the burner before they turn on the coil. This is to prevent the coil from burning out (basically by virtue of the energy having nowhere to go). So you have to get at least pretty darn close to touching the burner before that sensor will allow the heat to flow.

 

[sammy33]

The BC pot arrived today, got it assembled and ready to use. Now if the cooktop would just hurry up. Also, have a bazooka screen on the way.

For those of you wondering the BC (non triclad bottom) is very magnetic. The little spot between the thermometer and valve is a magnet.

Awesome!

Did your BC come configured that way with the valve and thermo side by side? What parts do you have for your recirc return in the lid?

Edit: I see now from your previous post. You added the therm to the ball valve version. Very cool!

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

Awesome!

Did your BC come configured that way with the valve and thermo side by side? What parts do you have for your recirc return in the lid?

Edit: I see now from your previous post. You added the therm to the ball valve version. Very cool!

The thermo hole I drilled. It, clears the bottom of the kettle there is 1/8in between the bottom of the termo and the counter, it could use to be a little higher.

The lid, I drilled out the vent hole that was already there and used two washers, a 1/2in SS coupler and 1/2 brass male hose barb.

Going to build a whirlpool arm that just screws into the SS coupler. I'm planning on using the pump to recirculate the wort through my plate chiller.

 

[Owly055]

On this thread we are concentrating on induction cooktops only................. The other and really wonderful way to use induction heating is in a RIMS. Instead of using an electric element in the wort, or a heat exchange coil in the HLT, you could easily and cheaply, set things up to use induction to heat a piece of stainless steel tubing passing through a coil. The electronics to do this are incredibly simple...... with very few components. A transformer, a pair of mosfets, a couple of diodes, a choke coil, a capacitor, and a very simple induction coil. The schematic for this is available in a number of places. Here is one of them..........

]http://www.rmcybernetics.com/projects/DIY_Devices/diy-induction-heater.htm

And here is a Utube video of it.......There's a video on the site also:



This is absolutely a no brainer for RIMS.......... I'd be surprised if nobody has one set up yet. By using induction, you're not concentrating the heat on a hot surface where wort will scorch. It's worth noting that while the demo is quite impressive......... A screwdrive heated red hot in 30 seconds.......... In our application there is a steady stream of liquid passing through drawing the heat away..........It's never going to get excessively hot as a result. Switched on and off with your PID controller based on thermocouple temp, it should be very controllable.


H.W.

 

[mredge73]

On this thread we are concentrating on induction cooktops only................. The other and really wonderful way to use induction heating is in a RIMS.
H.W.

I want to do this.
Thank you for a new science project.

 

[geoffm33]

• IC3500 just arrived (at work, will have to wait until I get it home to open it!).
• Bayou Classic 44QT will be here tomorrow
• Wheeled steel service cart will be here tomorrow (brewstand)
• Electrician over the weekend

I'll be brewing in the basement, having a little concern over ventilating and creating a negative pressure environment for my natural gas appliances in basement. Would love some input over at this new thread.

 

[tbelczak]

• IC3500 just arrived (at work, will have to wait until I get it home to open it!).
• Bayou Classic 44QT will be here tomorrow
• Wheeled steel service cart will be here tomorrow (brewstand)
• Electrician over the weekend

I'll be brewing in the basement, having a little concern over ventilating and creating a negative pressure environment for my natural gas appliances in basement. Would love some input over at this new thread.

I use a window fan up against my glass block window vent, held in place with a dowel. I use foam all around the fan to "seal" the edges and make sure the moisture does not blow back in. One thing I quickly learned during my first basement brew is that cold water pipes condense the boil-off steam and drip like crazy. I bought foam pipe insulation (similar to a swimming pool noodle) and that does an OK job, though I do find myself wiping them down a couple times during the boil to prevent dripping.

 

[Owly055]

I want to do this.
Thank you for a new science project.

I think this is more than a science project. It's a useful device that could be a real improvement over current RIMS and HERMS systems. I would find a ceramic cylinder or perhaps just wrap a piece of fiberglass a few wraps around a stainless steel tube, and wind my working coil around that. I have everything except the micro wave transformer on hand already, but there are other transformers such as an ordinary high output battery charger transformer. Everything in this design is pretty flexible. Mosfets are available very cheaply......... I buy them on Ebay in lots at less than a dollar a piece for some pretty high power mosfets. Capacitors are equally cheap. Build this based on a stainless steel tube, flare the ends, and couple it into your RIMS circuit in place of the resistance heater. The coil could be many more wraps, extending a foot or more in length. By having more wraps, the voltage could be higher due to inductive reactance, and the capacitor could be smaller. It's an interesting job juggling the values on a tank circuit, calculating the frequency, and then working out the reactance so you know what your current draw will be at a given voltage. With the right combination you could run right off the mains, just rectifying it. The higher the frequency, the higher the voltage you can run because the reactance increases the resistance of the work coil as the frequency goes up. that means lighter wire over a longer distance....... equals better heat distribution. Done properly this could heat your strike water and boil your wort......... There is no reason why you need an element under the pan. A permanent wrap potted in epoxy around the pot itself might heat the outside of the pot uniformly with the heat distributed well enough to eliminate the need for a heating element in the RIMS flow at all. The possibilities are perhaps not endless.........but many.

H.W.

 

[mredge73]

I think this is more than a science project...

Here is an instructable for one:
http://www.instructables.com/id/30-kVA-Induction-Heater/
Shows that for a couple hundred dollars you can make one that can output the same as some $5000 commercial models.

I would like to see about reverse engineering a cook top like on thread title to do this; what would your thoughts be on that? I haven't been able to find anything on how to do this yet but will keep looking.

 

[geoffm33]

OK, someone set my mind at ease. I have seen in this thread that people are using Bayou Classic pots with the Avantco 3500. Is anyone using the Bayou Classic 1044 44 QT Stainless Kettle?

This exact model: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VXHKMC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I have the kettle in my possession, and the IC3500 but haven't had the electrician over to install the proper outlet. So I can't test. I do know that the only thing a magnet will stick to on this pot is the handle

So if anyone is using that exact model, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks!!

 

[Hello]

OK, someone set my mind at ease. I have seen in this thread that people are using Bayou Classic pots with the Avantco 3500. Is anyone using the Bayou Classic 1044 44 QT Stainless Kettle?

This exact model: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VXHKMC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I have the kettle in my possession, and the IC3500 but haven't had the electrician over to install the proper outlet. So I can't test. I do know that the only thing a magnet will stick to on this pot is the handle

So if anyone is using that exact model, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks!!

That is super weird and I wonder how it differs from this guy's other than you saved $100.

And I'm not sure but the app shows me quoting you twice. The guy who bought the valved version is schiersteinbrewing in post #169

Couldn't resist, I pulled the trigger and bought one of these cooktops and a Bayou Classic:
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ava...r-208-240v-3500-watt/177IC3500 208*240.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TVYHXY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Those two with my March pump for wort recirculation should do the trick, for a single vessel BIAB system, to make me one of these :

 

[AnOldUR]

OK, someone set my mind at ease.

I have the same BC pot you linked to except it's the 62 qt option on that page (model 1060 instead of 1044). Strange thing is that a magnet will stick anywhere to mine, but I remember someone posting that a magnet didn't stick to theirs but it still worked with induction. Give it a try.

Guess that didn't ease your mind. :cross:

 

[geoffm33]

Found this which is promising:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/induction-kettles-440383/

Just need the electrician then I can test

 

[Owly055]

Found this which is promising:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/induction-kettles-440383/

Just need the electrician then I can test

I have a drawer full of various adapter cables from one 240 plug design to another. It's a simple matter of buying a male and a female, and wiring them up. It's all pretty simple, and normally doesn't take very heavy wire even. Everything is color coded so you know which two are lines, which neutral (if there is a neutral), and which is ground. It just takes a few minutes. I've never worried about having a 30 amp appliance on a 50 amp breaker, and it has never caused me any trouble at all........ In 50 years of tinkering with electricity. There are all kinds of dire warnings out there, but they really don't apply here. Any outlet you have for 240 will be serviced by a breaker and wiring of more than adequate capacity.

H.W.

 

[geoffm33]

I think it will be fine. Saw this in the QA section of that pots Amazon listing:

Yes this pot works just fine on my induction burner even though the pot is not magnetic at all. I was quite surprised to find this out. I did not buy it with intentions of using it on my induction burner because I have a specific pot just for that but one day I placed it on the burner to see what would happen and it worked perfectly fine.​

Source

 

[Hello]

I think it will be fine. Saw this in the QA section of that pots Amazon listing:

Yes this pot works just fine on my induction burner even though the pot is not magnetic at all. I was quite surprised to find this out. I did not buy it with intentions of using it on my induction burner because I have a specific pot just for that but one day I placed it on the burner to see what would happen and it worked perfectly fine.​

Source

This is good news. I'm unsure if the one with the valve is worth 100 more. I can get the HF step bit and I have a valve lying around. I'm thinking I may do that instead and save myself about $80 after buying the bit.

 

[sumbrewindude]

It's GREAT news. I found a reference over on another home brew site that according to the
"owner" of the Bayou Classic Outlet site, all the pots are induction capable.

I'm going to get the 36qt version, that with the 3500W should keep me busy for quite a while.

 

[67cougargt]

Would someone consider putting a Keggle on and let us know what happens?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app